DeSantis signs bill to restrict minors from social media

TWO NEWS STARTS NOW. FIRST TONIGHT AT FIVE. SOCIAL MEDIA RESTRICTIONS FOR KIDS ARE ON THE WAY ACROSS OUR STATE AFTER THE GOVERNOR SIGNED A CONTROVERSIAL BILL INTO LAW. ALREADY, CRITICS ARE PROMISING LEGAL CHALLENGES TO THIS, CITING FREE SPEECH RIGHTS AND PARENTAL CONTROL. WESH TWO NEWS POLITICAL REPORTER GREG FOX EXPLAINS WHAT THE LAW SAYS AND HOW IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN EVEN MORE RESTRICTIVE. ALL RIGHT, IT’S DONE. THERE YOU GO. FLORIDA GOVERNOR RON DESANTIS HELD UP THE NEWLY SIGNED HOUSE BILL THREE AFTER SIGNING IT IN JACKSONVILLE. IT’S INTENDED TO RESTRICT KIDS ACCESS TO SOCIAL MEDIA SITES WHILE ALSO GIVING PARENTS LEEWAY TO ALLOW OLDER TEENS TO NAVIGATE THE SPECTRUM OF SOCIAL MEDIA ACROSS THE WEB. THE GOVERNOR CALLS THE NEW LAW A SAFEGUARD FROM ONLINE PREDATORS. NOW. NOW, WITH THINGS LIKE SOCIAL MEDIA AND ALL THIS, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN HAVE A KID IN THE HOUSE. SO SAFE, SEEMINGLY, AND THEN YOU HAVE PREDATORS THAT CAN GET RIGHT IN THERE TO, UH, INTO YOUR OWN HOME. YOU COULD BE DOING EVERYTHING RIGHT, BUT THEY KNOW HOW TO GET AND MANIPULATE THESE DIFFERENT PLATFORMS. THE GOVERNOR VETOED THE FIRST VERSION OF THE BILL PASSED BY LAWMAKERS, SAYING A TOTAL BAN UNDER 16 WAS TOO STRONG AND PARENTAL FREEDOMS TOO WEAK. THE NEW LAW LOOKS LIKE THIS. NO ACCESS TO SOCIAL MEDIA FOR CHILDREN UNDER 14. FOR THOSE 14 AND 15 YEARS OLD, THEY WOULD NEED PARENTAL CONSENT AND SOCIAL MEDIA COMPANIES ARE REQUIRED TO VERIFY AGE WHEN IT COMES TO SEXUALLY EXPLICIT WEBSITES. I DO SUSPECT THAT THIS UNCONSTITUTIONAL POLICY WILL BE CHALLENGED, DEMOCRATIC ORLANDO LAWMAKER ANNA ESKAMANI TELLS ME. CHALLENGES TO SIMILAR LAWS IN OTHER STATES ALREADY PROVE FLORIDA WILL LIKELY SPEND PLENTY TO DEFEND IN COURT, A LAW THAT SHE BELIEVES DOESN’T REALLY REGULATE MUCH. IF A MINOR WANTS TO GET ON SOCIAL MEDIA, THEY’RE STILL GOING TO FIND A WAY TO DO IT. I THINK THE ENFORCEMENT OF THIS BILL IS, IS IS REALLY NOT THAT STRONG. I MEAN, IT’S IT’S IT’S TOO AGGRESSIVE FOR THE FIRST AMENDMENT, BUT IT’S NOT AGGRESSIVE ENOUGH TO ACTUALLY PROHIBIT ACCESS. SO THE PROBLEM ATTEMPTING TO BE SOLVED IS NOT GOING TO BE SOLVED BARRING A LEGAL CHALLENGE. THE SOCIAL MEDIA LAW TAKES EFFECT NEXT JANUARY. GREG FOX WESH TWO NEWS. A FEDERAL JUDGE LAST MONTH TEMPORARILY BLOCKED OHIO’S LAW RESTRICTING SOCIAL MEDIA AMONG CHILDREN OVER CONCERNS THAT IT COULD INFRINGE O

Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed a bill that would restrict minors from opening social media accounts.The governor held up House Bill 3 after signing it into law in Jacksonville on Monday. The House voted 109 to 4 to approve the bill, which passed the Senate earlier in March. It’s intended to restrict kid's access to social media sites while also giving parents leeway to allow older teens to navigate the spectrum of social media across the web. The governor calls the new law a safeguard from online predators.“Now, with things like social media and all this, you can have a kid in the house safe seemingly, and then you have predators who can get right in there into your home. You can be doing everything right, but they know how to get and manipulate these different platforms," DeSantis said. The governor vetoed the first version of the Bill passed by lawmakers, saying a total ban under 16 was too strong and parental freedoms were too weak. The bill would prevent children under the age of 16 from opening social media accounts, though it would allow parents to give consent for 14- and 15-year-olds to have accounts.Kids under 14 could not open accounts.The bill requires social media companies to use a third-party system to verify the age of anyone creating a new account and terminate accounts reasonably known to belong to someone under 16. “I do expect that this unconstitutional bill will be challenged,” said Democratic Orlando State Representative Anna Eskamani. She says challenges to similar laws in other states already prove Florida will likely spend plenty to defend in court a law that she believes doesn’t really regulate much.“If a minor wants to get on social media, they are still going to find a way to do it. The enforcement of this bill is really not that strong. It’s too aggressive for the first amendment, but it’s not strong enough to actually prohibit access so a problem attempting to be solved is not going to be solved,” Eskamani said. Barring a legal challenge, the social media law will take effect next January.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. —

Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed a bill that would restrict minors from opening social media accounts.

The governor held up House Bill 3 after signing it into law in Jacksonville on Monday. The House voted 109 to 4 to approve the bill, which passed the Senate earlier in March.

It’s intended to restrict kid's access to social media sites while also giving parents leeway to allow older teens to navigate the spectrum of social media across the web. The governor calls the new law a safeguard from online predators.

“Now, with things like social media and all this, you can have a kid in the house safe seemingly, and then you have predators who can get right in there into your home. You can be doing everything right, but they know how to get and manipulate these different platforms," DeSantis said.

The governor vetoed the first version of the Bill passed by lawmakers, saying a total ban under 16 was too strong and parental freedoms were too weak.

The bill would prevent children under the age of 16 from opening social media accounts, though it would allow parents to give consent for 14- and 15-year-olds to have accounts.

Kids under 14 could not open accounts.

The bill requires social media companies to use a third-party system to verify the age of anyone creating a new account and terminate accounts reasonably known to belong to someone under 16.

“I do expect that this unconstitutional bill will be challenged,” said Democratic Orlando State Representative Anna Eskamani.

She says challenges to similar laws in other states already prove Florida will likely spend plenty to defend in court a law that she believes doesn’t really regulate much.

“If a minor wants to get on social media, they are still going to find a way to do it. The enforcement of this bill is really not that strong. It’s too aggressive for the first amendment, but it’s not strong enough to actually prohibit access so a problem attempting to be solved is not going to be solved,” Eskamani said.

Barring a legal challenge, the social media law will take effect next January.

DeSantis signs bill to restrict minors from social media

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